Tom Brady enters 20th season still looking to earn Patriots’ trust

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Even in his 20th NFL season and 18th as the opening-day starter at quarterback for the New England Patriots, Tom Brady is still awed by the responsibility he bears.

“I think it’s a great privilege when a team trusts you to be the quarterback and they put the ball in your hands,” Brady said Wednesday. “It’s a great show of trust that they have in you, and I think you have to earn it every day. With that trust comes a lot of responsibility, and that’s a big responsibility I take with me.”

Brady will begin another quest to make NFL history Sunday night at home when the Super Bowl champions entertain the Pittsburgh Steelers in a opener.

The San Mateo native will work with a new receiver after New England added disgruntled former Raider Antonio Brown on a one-year contract Saturday, hours after he was released by Oakland.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has a history of gambling on other teams’ problems — or at least bringing them in at little cost — to give them a second, third or fourth chance.

If Brady starts all 16 games for the Patriots this year, he would be the first NFL quarterback to do so at 42 years of age.

“I love being available to the team,” he said. “That’s been something I feel like is a very important part of my job. I can’t help the team if I’m not out there, and I work pretty hard to make sure I am. So many great players have played this game, and to still be doing it is something I treasure.”

In an expansive news conference at Gillette Stadium, Brady touched upon several nostalgic topics, including his transition from a young player learning the ropes to the veteran who guided younger players in a similar manner.

“I was a young player once, too, and I had a lot of older players that I worked...